Take-up devices for use in building structure

ABSTRACT

A take up device for a building structure, e.g. holdown for securing the building structure to a foundation, has a housing secured by fasteners to the building structure, the housing defining a cylindrical chamber containing a piston and fluid, with a piston rod projecting from the housing. The piston rod is connected to a foundation anchor, and a fluid passage interconnects portions of the cylindrical chamber at opposite sides of the piston. The fluid passage is provided with a one-way valve, which allows the housing to move upwardly relative to the piston, to maintain the tightness of the connection to the anchor bolt, but resists opposite movement of the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to take up devices for use in building structures and is useful in particular, but not exclusively, holdowns for reinforcing building structures against seismic vibrations and hurricane damage.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Holdowns are used in wood frame building structures in order to secure the structures to their concrete foundations. For this purpose, conventional holdowns are made of sheet metal and are secured by nails, bolts and other fasteners to the wooden components of the building structure and by anchor bolts to the concrete foundations of the buildings.

[0005] It is found, in practice, that nuts securing the holdowns to the anchor bolts tend to become loose, after a period of time, as a consequence of wood shrinkage due to drying and, also, due to vibration of the building structure caused by seismic activity.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved take up device for building structures which will counteract such loosening of the securing nuts.

[0007] According to the present invention, there is provided a take up device which comprises a housing secured by fasteners to a building structure, the housing defining a cylindrical chamber containing a piston and a fluid, i.e. a liquid or a gas, with a piston rod projecting from one or both ends of the housing. One end of the piston rod is connected to a foundation anchor, and a fluid passage interconnects portions of the cylindrical chamber at opposite sides of the piston. The fluid passage is provided with a one-way valve.

[0008] In use, the one-way valve allows the housing to move in one direction, i.e. toward the anchor member, relative to the piston in order to maintain a tight connection between the housing and the anchor. This tightening movement counteracts any compression of the wooden components of the building structure. However, the one-way valve counteracts flow of the fluid in the opposite direction through the fluid passage so as to prevent loosening of this connection.

[0009] The present take up device may be used as a holdown or part of a holdown, e.g. for securing a building structure to a foundation, or as a take up device between e.g. horizontally or vertically adjacent building components.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fluid passage is formed by a clearance between the piston and the wall of the cylindrical chamber, and the one-way valve comprises an annular seal between the piston and the cylinder wall.

[0011] To allow the present device to act as a dampener, e.g. for dampening seismic vibrations of the building structure, a further fluid flow passage may be provided, e.g. through the piston or bypassing the piston, to allow relaxation of the connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention will be more readily understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof given, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:—

[0013]FIG. 1 shows an exploded view, in perspective, of a holdown according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 shows a view in perspective of components of the holdown of FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 3 shows a view in perspective of a piston and an annular seal forming parts of the holdown of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 3A shows a view taken it in cross-section through the annular seal of FIG. 3 along the line 3A-3A of FIG. 3;

[0017]FIGS. 4 and 4A show views corresponding to those of FIGS. 3 and 3A, but of a modified annular seal;

[0018]FIGS. 5 and 5A show views in vertical cross-section through a housing, a piston and a one-way valve forming components of the holdown of FIG. 1;

[0019]FIGS. 6 and 7 show views corresponding to that of FIG. 5 but illustrating modifications of the holdown components of FIG. 5;

[0020]FIG. 8 shows a view in perspective of the holdown of FIG. 1 in an assembled condition;

[0021]FIGS. 9 and 9A show views corresponding to that of FIG. 8, but illustrating modifications of the holdown of FIG. 8;

[0022]FIG. 10 shows a broken-away view, in perspective, of another modification of the holdown of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIGS. 11 and 12 shows views in perspective of two further modifications of the holdown of FIG. 1, in a partly exploded condition;

[0024]FIGS. 13 and 14 show, respectively, a view in perspective of the holdown of FIG. 1 with added components and a broken-away view in side elevation of an application of that holdown;

[0025]FIGS. 15 through 22 show views corresponding to those of the FIGS. 13 and 14, but illustrating different applications of the holdown according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, a holdown indicated generally by reference numeral 10 has a housing 12 provided with a housing cover 14, which is secured to the housing 12 by screws 15.

[0027] A piston 16 on a piston rod 18 is located in a cylindrical chamber 20 (FIG. 5) in the housing. 12. The cylindrical chamber 20 is closed at one end by the housing cover 14 and, at its opposite end, by a wall 22 of the housing. The housing cover 14 has a cylindrical recess accommodating a bushing 24, and the wall 22 has a cylindrical recess accommodating a bushing 26. The piston rod 18 extends in opposite directions from the piston 16 through the bushings 24 and 26, and has opposite threaded ends 28 and 30.

[0028] The outer diameter of the piston 16 is less than the inner diameter of the cylindrical chamber 20, so that a clearance 31 (FIGS. 5 and 5A) is provided between the periphery of the piston 16 and the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical chamber 20. An annular seal 32 extends around the periphery of the piston 16 and provides a seal between the piston 16 and the wall of the cylindrical chamber 20, as described in greater detail below. More particularly, and as shown in FIG. 3A, the annular seal 32 has a U-shaped cross-section comprising limbs 34 and 35 connected by an intermediate portion 36. The limb 34, which is the outermost limb, is normally in sealing contact with the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical chamber 20, and the inner limb 35 is in sealing contact with the piston 16.

[0029]FIGS. 4 and 4A show a modified O-ring 38, which has first and second limbs 39 and 40, extending toward one side of the O-ring 38, which are in sealing contact with the cylindrical wall and the piston 16, respectively, and third and fourth limbs 42 and 43 extending oppositely from the limbs 39 and 40, and sealingly contacting the cylinder wall. The O-ring 38 of FIGS. 4 and 4A is used instead of the O-ring 32 on the piston 16, as shown in FIG. 6 and described in greater detail below.

[0030] As can be seen in FIG. 5, the piston 16 has an annular intermediate surface 46, which is cylindrical, between an annular peripheral projection 48, forming a shoulder on the piston 16, and a frustoconical surface 50, which tapers convergently from the annular intermediate surface 46. The modified annular seal 38, as shown, in FIG. 6, extends around the annular intermediate surface 46, with its limbs 39 and 43 in sealing contact with the annular intermediate surface 46.

[0031] Referring again to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, the holdown 10 is provided with inlet openings 52 and 54 which are provided with threaded plugs 55 and through which a fluid is introduced into the cylindrical chamber 20 at opposite sides of the piston 16. The opening 52 is provided in the housing 12, and communicates directly with the cylindrical chamber 20, while the opening 54 is provided in the housing cover 14 and communicates with the cylindrical chamber 20 through an axial passage 56 in the housing cover 14.

[0032] In operation of the holdown 10, as it has so far been described, the piston is able to move along the cylinder 20 toward the housing cover 14, e.g. in response to shrinkage of the wooden building components secured by the holdown 10 as described below, so that the housing 12 is able to move relative to the piston 16 toward the end 30 of the piston rod 18. When this occurs, the pressure of the fluid in the portion of the cylindrical chamber 20 between the piston and the housing cover 14 causes some of the fluid to flow through the clearance 31 between the piston 16 and the wall of the cylindrical chamber 20, thereby causing the annular seal 32 to be dislodged from the annular intermediate surface 46 to the frustoconical surface 50, as shown in FIG. 5A. When this occurs, the annular seal 32 no longer provides a seal between the piston 16 and the wall of the cylindrical chamber 20.

[0033] When, however, the piston 16 is urged in the opposite direction, i.e. toward the end wall 22 of the housing 12, the fluid in the portion of the cylindrical chamber 20 between the piston 16 and the wall 22 of the housing presses the annular seal 32 back onto the annular intermediate surface 46 and into sealing contact with the piston 16 and the wall of the cylindrical chamber 20. Consequently, the displacement of the piston 16 in this direction is counteracted by the pressure of the fluid between the piston 16 and the housing wall 22.

[0034] Therefore, the annular seal 32 serves as a one-way valve, which allows the piston 16 to be displaced in one direction relative to the housing 20 but which counteracts, or even prevents, displacement of the housing 12 in the opposite direction relative to the housing 20.

[0035] The piston 16 is also formed with a further annular peripheral projection 52, toward which the frustoconical surface 50 tapers. This further annular peripheral projection 52 serves to retain the annular seal 32 on the piston 16 when the seal is displaced, as described above, from the annular intermediate surface 46 to the frustoconical surface 50.

[0036]FIG. 6 shows a modification of the piston 16, which is indicated by reference numeral 60. The piston 60 differs from the piston 16 in that the piston 60, which is otherwise the identical to the piston 16, is formed with a boring 62 extending through the piston 60, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the piston rod 18. This boring 62 provides a further fluid flow passage interconnecting the portions of the cylindrical chamber 20 at opposite sides of the piston 16, and allows a restricted flow of the fluid past the piston 16. In this embodiment of the present invention, the annular seal 32 is replaced by the annular seal 38.

[0037] By this means, the piston 16 is enabled to move gradually toward the housing wall 22. Consequently, when this modified piston 60 is substituted for the piston 16 in the holdown 10, the latter acts as a dampener.

[0038]FIG. 7 illustrates a further modified piston, indicated by reference numeral 64, which is identical to the piston 60 of FIG. 6 except that the piston 64 is additionally provided with a flow control screw 66, in the form of a grub screw, which can be screwed into a correspondingly threaded opening 68 in the piston 64. When thus inserted into the piston 64, the flow control screw 66 can be adjusted so as to obstruct, to a greater or lesser extent, the cross-sectional area of the boring 62 and, thus, so as to adjustably restrict the flow of fluid through this further flow passage and, thereby, to control the damping effect of the piston 64.

[0039]FIG. 8 shows a view in perspective of the holdown 10 of FIG. 1 in an assembled condition.

[0040]FIG. 9 shows a view corresponding to that of FIG. 8 but illustrating a modification of the holdowns of FIGS. 6 and 7, indicated generally by reference numeral 10A, in which the piston 16 is provided, i.e. the piston lacks the further flow passage formed by the boring 62 in the piston 60 or 64, but in which the opposite sides of the piston 16 are instead interconnected by a further flow passage extending through a tube 70 at the exterior of the housing. The tube 70 is provided with a check valve 69 controlling flow through the tube 70.

[0041]FIG. 9A shows the holdown of FIG. 9 modified by the provision of an adjustment screw 71, which can be screwed into the check valve 69 to a greater or lesser extent in order to correspondingly adjust the flow through the tube 70.

[0042] FIGS. 10 to 12 show further modifications 10B, 10C and 10D of the holdown 10, in which flow passages within the housings of the modified holdowns interconnect the portions of the cylindrical chambers at opposite sides of the pistons.

[0043] In FIG. 10, an auxiliary chamber 72 communicates through openings 74 and 76 with opposite sides of the piston.

[0044] In FIG. 11, a modified piston rod 16C projects downwardly from the holdown 10C but does not project upwardly through a cover 14C of a housing 12C. A spring (not shown) is provided between the piston 16C and the housing 12C. An auxiliary chamber 78, corresponding to the chamber 72 of FIG. 10, interconnects opposite sides of piston 16C.

[0045] The holdown 10D of FIG. 12 is similar to the holdown 10C except that, as shown in FIG. 12, the upper end 28 of the piston rod 18 projects through housing cover 14D.

[0046]FIG. 13 shows the holdown 10 mounted on a pair of parallel elongate support blocks 100, which are provided with through-openings 102 for receiving fasteners, for example screws (not shown). In FIG. 14, the holdown 10 of FIG. 13, together with its support blocks 100, is shown mounted on the top of a building structure indicated generally by reference numeral 104 at the top of the building structure 105. The fasteners (not shown) extend through the support blocks 100 so to secure the holdown 10 to the top of a plate 104. The piston rod 18 thus extends vertically, and its lower threaded end 30 is connected through a plurality of connecting rods 106 and couplings 108 to an anchor bolt 110, which is secured in a concrete foundation 112.

[0047] Two further holdowns 10 are shown in FIG. 14, which are interconnected between two of the couplers 108 and plates 109 on joists 111 at intermediate floors of the building structure 105. However, these two further holdowns 10 may be omitted if not required.

[0048]FIG. 15 shows the holdown 10 secured to one face of a vertical metal plate 112, formed with bolt holes 113, with a support block 114, which is fixed to the plate 112, underlying the housing 12 of the holdown 10. A plurality of such holdowns 10, each provided with a respective vertical plate 112, can then be bolted to vertical studs 116 of building structure, as shown in FIG. 16, and connected between the uppermost holdown 10, which is similar to that of FIG. 13, and the anchor bolt 110.

[0049]FIG. 17 shows the holdown 10 secured to a pair of a vertical metal plates 120. As shown in FIG. 18, these vertical plates can then be secured by nuts 122 and bolts 123 between a pair of studs 124, with the bolts 123 extending through bolt holes 126 in the plates 120 and through the studs 124, the holdown 10 being connected between the anchor bolt 110 and the lower end 30 of the piston rod 18 by one of the couplers 108. The upper end 28 of the piston rod 18 is connected by a further coupler 108 and connecting rod 106 to an overlying holdown (not shown).

[0050]FIG. 19 shows the holdown 10 mounted on a conventional sheet metal holdown indicated generally by reference numeral 130. The holdown 130 is secured to a pair of studs 132 by a pair of bolts 134, each provided with a nut 136 and a washer 138 (FIG. 20). The holdown 10 is mounted on an intermediate portion 140 of the holdown 130 extending between opposite sidewalls 142 and is connected by coupler 108 to the anchor bolt 110.

[0051]FIG. 21 shows a further arrangement of the holdown 10, which in this case is mounted between a pair of identical elongate rectangular plates 150, to which the housing 12 of the holdown 10 is attached by welding or otherwise. The plates 150 are formed with circular openings 152, which are connected through tubes 154 welded or otherwise attached to the plates 150.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 22, the holdown 10 together with the plates 150 are located between a pair of wooden studs 156, with bolts 158 extending through the studs 156 and through the tubes 154 and secured by nuts 160. The holdown 10 is again connected through coupler 108 to the anchor bolt 110.

[0053] The fluid provided in the holdowns according to the present invention may be hydraulic fluid or any suitable inert gas.

[0054] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various modifications may be made in the above described invention within the scope and spirit of the accompanying claims. 

We claim:
 1. A take up device, comprising: a housing; said housing defining the cylindrical chamber within said housing and said cylindrical chamber having a cylindrical wall; a piston within said cylindrical chamber, said piston having a piston rod projecting from said housing; and a fluid within said chamber; a one-way valve which is deflectable by pressure of the fluid to prevent displacement of said piston and said piston rod in a first axial direction along said cylindrical chamber toward said anchor and resisting displacement of said piston and said piston rod in an opposite axial direction along said cylindrical chamber; fasteners for securing said housing to a building structure; and an anchor for securing said take up device to a building foundation; and a connector between said anchor and said piston rod.
 2. A take up device as claimed in claim 1, including a fluid passage interconnecting portions of said cylindrical chamber at opposite sides of said piston.
 3. A take up device has claimed in claim 1, wherein said fluid passage extends through said piston.
 4. A take up device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said fluid passage extends within said housing and outwardly of said piston.
 5. A take up device has claimed in claim 2, wherein said fluid passage extends exteriorly of said housing.
 6. A take up device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one-way valve comprises an annular seal of elastomeric material extending around said piston.
 7. A take up device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said annular seal has a cross-sectional shape having a first limb thereof in sealing contact with said piston and a second limb thereof in sealing contact with said cylindrical wall.
 8. A take up device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cross-sectional shape of said O-ring has an intermediate portion abutting said piston and interconnecting said first and second limbs.
 9. A take up device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said cross-sectional shape of said annular seal has third and fourth limbs extending oppositely from said first and second limbs, said third limb sealingly contacting said piston and said fourth limb being in sealing contact with said cylinder wall and abutting said piston.
 10. A take up device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said piston has an annular surface and a peripheral projection forming an annular shoulder on said piston and a frustoconical surface portion converging from said annular surface, said O-ring normally extending around said annular surface in abutment with said peripheral surface and being displaceable from said annular surface to said frustoconical surface by the fluid on displacement of said piston and said piston in said first direction relative to said housing. 